Artist Statement

I am an emerging artist from South West London, having graduated from Bath Spa University in BA(Hons) Fine Art. Since graduating in 2022, I have exhibited at the Mall Galleries in London, Hypha Studios in Stratford and have won a TATE competition which resulted in my work being shown on a billboard in London. Upcoming, I have a solo exhibition of my photographs in Marfa Texas where I have been asked to photograph along the Mexican-Texas border and create sight-specific photography to accompany my other work from around the world. 

 

Artist Statement:

 

I create images from photography. They are first and foremost a beautiful work; but they say more than that and document the allegorical sense of a moment. Each image is overlaid in an almost brutish fashion and the photographs overlaid range in being taken minutes or months apart.

 

My creative lens does not distinguish between the interconnected beauty of nature and the boundaries of human consciousness. This may include feelings of euphoria, sorrow, loneliness, and interpersonal relationships. I believe that the qualities in the pictures connect with the soul of a place, the essence of where I am and indeed - nature. 

 

The photographs in this portfolio were taken during 3 separate visits to Scotland’s Hebrides, Socotra Island and Morocco. The three locations all show ancient landscapes which have remained unchanged over time however each offers a unique viewpoint into human interaction with nature in drastically different cultural and environmental settings. Socotra features 40% endemic species, including Dragonblood trees that are between 800-1000 years old, surrounded by ‘the last smiling people’ who do not use technology and live in a land that is unchanged by time. Contrastingly, Morocco’s landscape is undergoing vast development away from a traditional nomadic lifestyle to a Westernised society. Each is a rapidly developing ecosystem, threatened by modern society in severing human relationship with nature.

 

Compositionally, the occasional physical figure stands still within the landscape forming part of their environment, while others are in transition. Perhaps it is the soul that connects us all, and that is what I have chosen to explore whilst travelling to new places. I develop close relationships with people from the places where I travel, including Socotra, Morocco and The Hebrides. 

 

My images allude to the fractal nature of my perception of the universe. Each work is an exploration of colour, story and composition. They tell a story rarely heard or seen, of the relationship of the people battling against the transition into a modernised, technological world. Socotra shows an acceptance of people that is archaic but perhaps far more advanced than Western systems of love, due to a closeness and respect to their ancient surroundings. 

 

The images collected are jewels, snapped and created whilst I move through the great expanse of life. Seemingly made instantaneous in travel, yet developed through a conscious regard of souls who are intrinsically connected to their natural environment and face great changes to come in their futures.